EPCR tournament formats and qualifiers confirmed

Following the landmark announcement of the inclusion of the leading South African teams in its tournaments, EPCR is pleased to confirm the formats and qualifiers for next season’s expanded Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup.

The 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup will be competed for by 24 elite clubs with eight representatives from the Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) – including historic first appearances by the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks – as well as eight representatives from the Gallagher Premiership and eight from the TOP 14. (See qualifiers below)

The clubs will be divided into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B – and the tournament will be played over eight weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting next December when Stade Rochelais begin the defence of their title.

The eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the knockout stage which will consist of a Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and the showpiece final at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on 20 May 2023.

The draw for the Heineken Champions Cup pools, which will be live-streamed from the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday 28 June, will be carried out on the same lines as last season with the clubs separated into four tiers based on their rankings, and clubs from the same league in the same tier will not be drawn into the same pool.

The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs will be in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs will be in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs will be Tier 4.

The Tier 1 and the Tier 4 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league, will play one another home and away during the pool stage, as will the Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league.

Twenty clubs will play in next season’s EPCR Challenge Cup with eight representatives from the Vodacom URC, including the Johannesburg-based Emirates Lions who will also be making a historic first appearance in an EPCR competition, six from the TOP 14, five from the Premiership, as well as the Toyota Cheetahs from Bloemfontein who have accepted an invitation to compete. (See qualifiers below)

The clubs will be divided into two pools of 10 – Pool A and Pool B – and in a similar format to the Heineken Champions Cup, the tournament will be played over eight weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting in December.

The six highest-ranked clubs from each pool, as well as the 9^th and 10^th ranked clubs from each of the Heineken Champions Cup pools, will qualify for a Round of 16, which will be followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final at the Aviva Stadium on 19 May 2023.

The live-streamed draw for the EPCR Challenge Cup pools is also scheduled to take place at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday 28 June with the clubs separated into three tiers based on their rankings, and clubs from the same league will not play against one another during the pool stage.

The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs from each league, as well as the number 5 and number 6 ranked clubs from the Vodacom URC, will be in Tier 2. The Dragons, Zebre Parma, Aviron Bayonnais, USAP, Bath Rugby and the Toyota Cheetahs will be in Tier 3.

The Tier 1 and the Tier 3 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league, will play one another home and away over four pool stage rounds.

The Tier 2 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not from the same league, will play one another home and away during the pool stage. In order to adhere to the key principle of no same-league matches, Tier 2 clubs from the TOP 14 can only play against opposition from the Vodacom URC, and similarly, Tier 2 clubs from the Premiership can also only play against opposition from the Vodacom URC.

Further details and timings for the draws for both the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup pools will be communicated shortly.

2022/23 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP QUALIFIERS

TOP 14: Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Stade Toulousain, 5 Stade Rochelais, 6 Racing 92, 7 ASM Clermont Auvergne, 8 Lyon

Gallagher Premiership: Leicester Tigers, Saracens, 3 Harlequins, 4 Northampton Saints, 5 Gloucester Rugby, 6 Sale Sharks, 7 Exeter Chiefs, 8 London Irish

Vodacom United Rugby Championship: DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls, 3 Leinster Rugby, 4 Ulster Rugby, 5 Cell C Sharks, 6 Munster Rugby, 7 Edinburgh Rugby, 8 Ospreys

2022/23 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS

United Rugby Championship: 1 Glasgow Warriors, 2 Scarlets, 3 Connacht Rugby, 4 Lions, 5 Benetton Rugby, 6 Cardiff Rugby, 7 Dragons, 8 Zebre Parma

TOP 14: 1 RC Toulon, 2 Section Paloise, 3 Stade Français Paris, 4 CA Brive, 5 Aviron Bayonnais, 6 USAP

Gallagher Premiership: 1 Wasps, 2 Bristol Bears, 3 Worcester Warriors, 4 Newcastle Falcons, 5 Bath Rugby
Invited: Toyota Cheetahs

2022/23 key dates
Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022
Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022
Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023
Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023
Round of 16 – 31 March/ 1/2 April 2023
Quarter-finals – 7/8/9 April 2023
Semi-finals – 28/29/30 April 2023
EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 19 May 2023; Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 20 May 2023; Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Heineken Champions Cup EPCR Challenge Cup EPCR Vodacom Bulls DHL Stormers Cell C Sharks Emirates Lions Toyota Cheetahs

Coastal sides prevail over Gauteng foes as Vodacom...

The Hollywoodbets Sharks and DHL Stormers made strong statements in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship this weekend, ...

Nominees revealed for SA Rugby Awards 2024...

World Rugby’s Men’s 15s Player of the Year for 2024, Springbok flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit, is one of five nominees for...

Vodacom URC resumes with gripping local derbies...

The Vodacom United Rugby Championship returns with a bang this weekend after back-to-back rounds of Investec Champions C...

Another tough weekend for SA teams in Europe...

The Emirates Lions scored a sole victory for the South African francises in the two European competions this weekend, wi...

SA teams look for improvement on Super Saturday...

While the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Toyota Cheetahs will look to build on their encouraging starts to the Investec Champi...

Stormers and Bulls book all-South African final

The DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls ensured that the opening season of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship would finish with a South African champion after they edged Irish teams Ulster and Leinster by small margins in their respective semi-finals over the weekend, setting up an all-SA final in Cape Town on Saturday.

The 2022 Carling Currie Cup Bulletin #26

The semi-finalists in the Carling Currie Cup Premier and First Divisions were confirmed this weekend following some nail-biting action, with eight teams booking their spots in next weekend’s four knock-out clashes.

Stormers leave it very late to break Ulster hearts

A Warrick Gelant try and the successful conversion deep in injury time by Manie Libbok saw the DHL Stormers snatch a home final in dramatic fashion as they edged Ulster 17-15 in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final in Cape Town on Saturday.

Nienaber names 43-man Springbok squad

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber announced his national squad on Saturday for the forthcoming international season, featuring the Castle Lager Incoming Series against Wales next month, the Castle Lager Rugby Championship in August and September, and the tour to the Northern Hemisphere in November, which will likely include three SA A games.

Cheetahs finish first with brilliant win over Bulls

The Toyota Cheetahs rediscovered their mojo at just the right time to defeat the Vodacom Bulls 35-5 on Saturday evening in Bloemfontein, to seal top spot on the Carling Currie Cup standings.

Experienced Springbok Women squad named for Zimbabwe Test

Springbok Women head coach, Stanley Raubenheimer, named an experienced match day squad for their Rugby Africa Women’s Cup opener in Cape Town on Wednesday, when they return to international action for the first time in 2022, with Nolusindiso Booi resuming the captaincy in this first Test match against Zimbabwe.

Boks being creative as two SA sides prepare for Vodacom URC final

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said on Tuesday it was “awesome” to have two South African sides, the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls, contest the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship final, even though it means the Boks have had to be creative with their limited numbers at training at their preparation camp in Pretoria.

Vodacom URC: A new rivalry is born

If the inaugural Vodacom United Rugby Championship has proved one thing, it is that we are on the cusp of a new rivalry between Ireland and South Africa.

Brace to referee the Grand Final in Cape Town

The match official appointments for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final have been confirmed, with Ireland’s Andrew Brace appointed as the referee for this weekend’s eagerly-awaited showdown between the DHL Stormers and the Vodacom Bulls in Cape Town.

De Villiers inspires Junior Boks in Stellenbosch

Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers shared some special words of inspiration and encouragement with the Junior Springbok squad at their capping ceremony in Stellenbosch on Tuesday afternoon, where parents, friends and family of the players and management staff, as well as members of the media, braved the Cape winter weather to wish the team well for the forthcoming U20 Summer Series in Italy.